Daniel Jarque

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Jarque and the second or maternal family name is González.

Daniel Jarque González (1 January 1983 – 8 August 2009) was a Spanish professional footballer who played as a central defender and spent his entire career with Espanyol. He was named team captain one month before his death from a heart attack at the age of 26.^[2]

Dani Jarque

Jarque in action for Espanyol in 2009
Personal information
Full name	Daniel Jarque González[1]
Date of birth	(1983-01-01)1 January 1983[1]
Place of birth	Barcelona, Spain
Date of death	8 August 2009(2009-08-08) (aged 26)
Place of death	Florence, Italy
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s)	Centre-back
Youth career
	Cooperativa
1995–2001	Espanyol
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2001–2004	Espanyol B	82	(1)
2002–2009	Espanyol	173	(8)
Total		255	(9)
International career
2001	Spain U17	4	(0)
2001–2002	Spain U19	10	(1)
2003	Spain U20	3	(0)
2003–2005	Spain U21	19	(3)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, and a product of local Espanyol's youth system, Jarque made his La Liga debut with his hometown club on 20 October 2002, in a match against Recreativo de Huelva in 2002–03.^[3] After only 15 appearances over two seasons, he went on to become a defensive mainstay for a team that won the 2006 edition of the Copa del Rey.^[4] On 18 September 2005, he scored the game's only goal to help the hosts defeat Real Madrid.^[5]

In 2006–07, after renewing his contract until 2009,^[6] Jarque appeared in 14 UEFA Cup games as Espanyol reached the final, lost on penalties to Sevilla.^[7] In the previous league campaign, he contributed four league goals as the Pericos finished 15th.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Jarque relieved Raúl Tamudo of his captain duties at the start of 2009–10.^[12][13]

Death and tributes

According to several online Spanish newspapers, Jarque was found dead during Espanyol's pre-season, in Coverciano, Florence, Italy. On 8 August 2009, he was on the phone with his girlfriend in the team hotel when he suffered a heart attack.^[14] Some other news sources say that Jarque's girlfriend, who was seven months into her pregnancy,^[15] reported his absence to his roommate Coro.^[2][16]

On 15 August 2009, Arsenal player Cesc Fàbregas, a former teammate of Jarque in the Spain under-21 side, dedicated his second goal in his team's 6–1 Premier League win at Everton to him by raising a shirt with his name and number (#21, which he wore mainly as a professional).^[17] The homage was again paid the following month – as Espanyol won the first match at their new Estadi Cornellà-El Prat – against Málaga – by 2–1 scorer Iván Alonso, as Jarque's pregnant girlfriend was also giving birth to the couple's daughter.^[18]

On 11 July 2010, Jarque's close friend Andrés Iniesta celebrated his 116th-minute winner in the FIFA World Cup final by removing his jersey to reveal an undershirt with the sentence "Dani Jarque siempre con nosotros" ("Dani Jarque, always with us").^[19] Two years later, after Spain won UEFA Euro 2012, Fàbregas again donned a T-shirt during the trophy celebrations to remember him.^[20][21]

The Espanyol training ground and B-team stadium was also renamed in Jarque's memory.^[22]

Honours

Espanyol

• Copa del Rey: 2005–06^[4]
• UEFA Cup runner-up: 2006–07^[7]
• Supercopa de España runner-up: 2006^[23]

Spain U19

• UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2002^[24]

See also

• List of one-club men
• List of association football players who died during their careers